Damaged
by Ms.Orange21
Summary: COMPLETE! Cameron gets attacked coming home from work one night. How do she and House deal with it? Around the timeset of Heavy. CHAPTER 14 POSTED!
1. Attacked

Title: Damaged 

Summery: Just read…  
Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist.  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play.

_Author's Note: The beginning of this fic isn't happy. So bear with me. This is what happens after the scene in the pathology lab in "Heavy". In my world, the rest of the episode didn't happen, okay? Okay. I promise, if you are a fan of my stories, I won't let you guys down! Just hang in there!  
_

"Brrrr. Icy. Definitely think twice before correcting one of your mistakes again."

Cameron was seething. Why did House insist on coming to rub her nose in an error she didn't even make? "Correct all you want," she said. "Of course, it's a bit more productive if there's an actual mistake."

"Right, I always forget that part."

"I gave her the heparin, which means the necrosis is not a reaction to the warfarin, which is probably why she's not responding to your treatment."

"Yet." He paused. "If you didn't screw up, then what is it? You don't have an answer."

"Yet." She threw his own conceited answer at him.

"When you come up with something, let me know. I'll be in the clinic, warming up."

Cameron finally turned around to face him. "I'm the only one who's always stood behind you when you've screwed up."

"Why? Why would you support someone who screws up?"

"Because I'm not insanely insecure. And because I can actually trust in another human being and I am not an angry, misanthropic son of a bitch."

"I'm sorry," House said with a tilt of his head, "you said you weren't angry. Who would you fire?"

"No one."

He shook his head. "Not an option."

"If everyone took a pay cut and put in a few more hours we could all stay for the same amount of money."

"Figures you'd try and come up with a solution where no one gets hurt. The problem is, the world doesn't work that way just 'cause you want it to."

"Figures you'd stall and refuse to deal with the issue. Problem is, the world doesn't go away just because you want it to." With that, Cameron turned back to her microscope.

* * *

A few hours later, they had figured out that Jessica had Cushing's disease. The tissue necrosis was from hypercalcemia secondary to that disorder. And House never apologized to Cameron for accusing her of making a mistake. That was fine. She didn't apologize to him either. But it didn't mean that she still wasn't pissed off. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. Looking at her watch, she decided that it was time to go home. It was nearly 9pm and frankly, she needed a drink.

Cameron collected her things and walked towards the elevators. As she passed by House's office, she saw him and Dr. Wilson talking. She considered stopping in to say goodnight to Wilson, but that also meant talking to House. And at this point in time, she didn't have anything to say to him. But, her mind being the traitor that it is started an internal tirade about the ever-pleasant doctor.

How is it that he always knows what buttons to push? To make me doubt myself? I know I didn't do anything wrong, yet one word from him and I go 'maybe I did make a mistake'… Be strong Allison! You are a better doctor than that!

She walked through the parking garage lost in her own little world. _And damn Chase! Protecting his own ass. He knew I didn't do anything wrong! I swear if he ever does that again, I will bitch slap his ass all the way back to Australia!_

Her thoughts drifted back to House. She leaned her head on the top of her car. "Why me? Why do I always fall for the wrong guys?" She sighed. "Maybe I like guys who can rile me up. Maybe Mom was right. If they pick on you, they like you." Cameron laughed. "Maybe I'm just being optimistic. Maybe that's how you know you really like someone; if they irritate you to no end. Maybe I should stop talking to myself."

"Maybe you should pay more attention when walking by yourself at night." Cameron froze at the unfamiliar voice behind her. "Don't make a noise and get in the car."  
She did as she was told, dread pooling in her stomach. There was no one else around.

"Let's get this party started, shall we," the man asked locking the doors to the car.

* * *

"So, Cameron was right all along," House commented to Wilson. "She didn't give extra warfarin. It was Cushing's."

"And let me guess. You didn't apologize to her for being an ass."

"Now why would I do that? Would make me seem like I've gone soft." He picked up his bag. "Let's blow this joint, shall we?"

They walked out towards the parking garage together. "So what are you plans for tonight," Wilson asked.

"Go home, watch T.V., possibly order a hooker. It's been a while. I'm kinda horny."

"Oookay. A little too much information there."

"Well, it doesn't seem like I'm the only one," he commented, noticing one of the cars in the lot with fogged up windows and rocking.

They both stopped to stare. "Isn't that… Cameron's car," Wilson asked.

* * *

Cameron wrestled with her attacker to no avail. He had his hands everywhere. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't see anything. She couldn't move. Cameron thought she was dying. The buttons on her blouse were ripped off and his hand was down her pants. She could feel his fingers bruising her thighs. She kept pushing and clawing at his face and raked a line down the side of his neck. "Bitch," he spat out, and slapped her in the face. _Stay awake, Allison_, she thought, seeing stars. _You have to keep fighting._ She felt around to try to unlock the door, but got the window button instead. It slowly moved down. She balled up her fist and punched him as hard as possible in the face, praying he would loosen his grip on her just enough so she could slip out the window.

He did. "FUCK!"

Cameron scurried onto her knees and stuck her upper body out of the car. She was up to her waist when he grabbed her again and tried to pull her back in. "You are going to pay for that."

Tears burned her eyes, but she saw House and Wilson walking in the lot.

"HELP!" she screamed at them.

* * *

"What the hell is going on there," Wilson asked. "Did Cameron have a date tonight?"

"I have no idea," House muttered. "Who cares? Let her do what or whoever she wants."

"Hold up, she's rolling down the window."

"HELP! House, Wilson—" As she was dragged back in the car, her attacker took her head and smashed it on the steering wheel. Seeing people, he darted out of the car, trying to make an escape.

They both dropped whatever they were holding and dashed for the car. "Follow him," he spat at Wilson, who was already hot on the attacker's tail. "I'll see to Cameron."

He hurried over to the car and opened the door. Cameron was barely conscious. She had a bloody lip and a bruise forming on her cheek and eye. House pulled her out of the car and cradled her in his lap. "Cameron, can you hear me?"

"House?"

"I'm here," he said, covering her with his coat.

"I'm sorry…" she mumbled, and then passed out.

He pulled out his cell phone and called 911. "Police," he said, voice catching "There's been an attack. Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Send a car NOW."

Wilson jogged back, out of breath. "I lost him. We got out of the garage, and I lost him. I'm sorry." He crouched down to see the damage. "How is she?"

"He tried to rape her. Her shirt is busted and her pants are undone," he growled. "The police are on their way. Go get a gurney and nurses STAT. We need to get her taken care of immediately."


	2. Aftershocks

Title: Damaged 

Summery: Just read…  
Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist.  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play.

_Author's Note: I guess this is kind of depressing so far for my dear readers…The first few chappys may be, but like I said, bear with me! Feed me Seymour, feed me! (reviews, duh! LOL)_

_To Val'istar En' Alu: My dear stalker, my first reviewer!_

_To Landoverwater: Ahhh… but that's the point. He ran. Now I don't mean he actually miraculously "ran", I meant he ran as best he could. It's House. I figured everyone would assume he gimped/ran/limped as best as possible._

**Aftershocks**

Cameron didn't really regain consciousness the rest of the night. Unfortunately, that wasn't good; she had a concussion. The nurses went in every few hours to wake her up to make sure she didn't fall into a coma. Physically, however, she would be fine. She just had some bruises and cuts. Emotionally and mentally… that was another story. House paced outside of her room a good portion of the time.

When the police came, they questioned him and Wilson. Neither of them got a good look at the suspect, but Wilson was able to at least give a bodily description. They were also able to get some fingerprints off of the car. Hopefully, the scumbag would be in the database at the station. Now they were just waiting on Cameron.

House never made it home that night.

* * *

Dr. Cuddy entered the hospital at 9am on the nose. She stopped to pick up some files at the clinic and started looking them over as she proceeded to her office. She entered and went to go open the blinds to let some light in.

"Hello, Dr. Cuddy."

She gasped and dropped her files. "House? What are you doing in here?"

He was seated on her leather couch. "See? This is what happens when there is no security around here. Anyone can go anywhere."

Cuddy sighed. "I heard what happened to Dr. Cameron. I'm sorry."

"Yes. I'm sure you are," House replied, getting up. "Why was there no security around last night?"

"House, there is never security in the garage. We have cameras, but who has guards running around parking decks?"

"Apparently not us. And all the ones manning the cameras, where were they?"

"I don't know."

"Well, fire them and hire more competent ones."

"So every time something goes wrong, you want me to fire someone?"

"No. Next time we'll wait until someone gets killed instead." He was beginning to get angry.

"I am extremely sorry about what happened to Cameron. Really. But if this happened to someone in, let's say, pediatrics, you wouldn't care nearly as much!"

"Yes, because when innocent women get attacked, I stand on the sidelines and cheer with pompoms!" He limped to the door and stalked out. "And they say I'm the heartless one."

* * *

"What's the case?"

Foreman and Chase were waiting for information on file House was mulling over.

"33 year old female. Trauma to the head." He stopped.

"Is that all," asked Chase. "What's so special about that?"

"It's Cameron," House snapped.

"What are you talking about," Foreman asked.

"There is no new case. Cameron was assaulted in the garage last night."

"You're joking right? Please say you're joking."

"No," he replied softly. "The bastard tried to rape her, but Wilson and I got there just in time."

Chase and Foreman took in House's appearance for the first time. He had dark circles under his eyes and was wearing the same clothes as yesterday.

"Have you gotten any rest," Foreman asked.

"No. I've been keeping tabs on her all night."

"How is she," asked Chase.

"Physically, she'll be fine in a day or two."

"And?"

"And the rest we can only hope for the best." He ran a hand through his hair. "Go. Go see her. Room 307."

* * *

House went to see her after the other two. She slept through their visit. He looked at her. Her eye was swollen almost shut and her lip needed 2 stitches to close. There were 4 finger marks on her cheek. He clenched his fist on the head of his cane. The asshole must have slapped her in the face. Even with the bruises, she looked so peaceful

He shuffled over to the bedside. He knew he shouldn't, but he pulled down the front of her hospital gown just slightly. On the swell of her breasts were also finger marks. Trying to be as modest as possible, he raised the hem of her gown. Finger marks all along her thighs. He must have grabbed her everywhere. House closed his eyes. If he ever found out who did this… there were no words to express what he was feeling.

That's when he heard the whimper.

His eyes flew open. Cameron's head was turned to the side, eyes squeezed shut. A tear trickled down the side of her face.

House quickly covered her back up. "Cameron. Cameron. It's just me. Open your eyes."

"House?"

"Yeah," he said gently. "How are you?"

A keening wail came out from the depths of her chest. She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed.

"That's what I thought," he whispered.

* * *

"Have you gotten any sleep?"

Wilson stopped in House's office to check up on his friend.

"Nope."

"Anything to eat?"

"Not hungry."

"She's asleep again."

"I know. I told the nurses to page me if she wakes up."

Wilson sighed. "Me too."

They sat together in silence.

* * *

"Hey, how are you feeling," Chase asked the next day.

"Much better, thank you."

"We come bearing gifts!" Foreman dropped an overnight bag on her bed. "Real clothes!"

"You are the best," Cameron exclaimed. "This hospital gown is a bit drafty." She looked in the bag. "I'm only going to be here another day or so, guys. I'm not moving in!"

"Yeah, well, we grabbed a few things, but don't ask about any undergarments. Chase was afraid of that drawer."

"Whatever," Chase replied. "Foreman's the one who closed his eyes and just took out handfuls of what was in there."

"Hmm. So that explains the 12 pairs of panties and 4 bras." She laughed at them. "Thanks, I really do appreciate it."

"Wait, you didn't get to the best part."

Cameron dug around to the bottom of the bag. "YES! Real shampoo, soap, loofah, and… deodorant! Now I won't smell like a trucker anymore."

"Well, why smell like one when you don't talk like one," came a voice from the doorway.

"Hi, Dr. Wilson," Cameron said.

They guys said their good-byes and left the two alone.

"How are you doing?"

She sighed. "Better.

He sat down next to her. "Allison… I'm sorry. I chased him, but he got away."

Cameron looked at him. The guilt hovered over him like a blanket. She took his hand. "Don't worry. I'm safe now. If it weren't for you and Dr. House… All that matters is that you both came at the right time. Thank you."

"If you need anything…"

"I'll come running. I promise."


	3. Worse

Title: Damaged 

Summery: Just read…  
Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist.  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play.

_Author's Note: I know the subject is rough for a lot of people. I hope I don't offend anyone. I also don't want it to be too depressing and sad, so I'm trying to keep some of the snark alive. Of course, the first half is going to be very down as Cameron deals with her situation. It will get lighter, though. It was always meant to be angsty, but I also don't want to turn people off. I'm just glad it's gotten such a good response so far._

**Worse**

Shower… It may be the small hospital shower, but it had warm water. Cameron decided to test it out. She moved gingerly off of the bed. No real aches and pains. She felt pretty good, despite everything. The bruises were a bit sore, but otherwise okay. _This is just what I need. I am defiantly going to have to get Chase and Foreman something for picking up this stuff for me,_ she thought, laying out her toiletries. They even picked up her bathrobe. Cameron adjusted the water temperature, undressed and stepped in for a nice, relaxing shower.

* * *

House sat in his office playing with his yo-yo. He was restless. There were no cases. He was done with clinic duty for the day. To put it simply, he was bored. And he wanted to check up on Cameron. Again. She was probably as bored as he was just sitting in that private hospital room. It's not like PPTH got any good cable channels and there's only so much Jerry Springer one can watch. House got up and headed toward her room. He was going to make the ultimate sacrifice.

He was going to lend her his I-Pod.

"Hey."

"Wilson, hi."

"Going to see Cameron again?"

"No. Going to the clinic."

"Clinic's the other way."

"Big hospital. I'm always getting lost."

"She says she's doing much better." Wilson walked with House towards Cameron's room. "I was just in with her a little while ago."

"She says. How does she look?"

"Like she's barely holding it together."

House looked Wilson up and down. "You look like you're barely holding it together."

Wilson sighed. "I can't help but feel somewhat guilty, for not being able to catch the guy, you know? I should have been able to do more."

"At least you tried," House said. "I couldn't do anything but watch. All I could do was hold her and tell her it'll all be okay." He glanced at Wilson. "So don't tell me about guilt." He left Wilson standing alone in the hallway.

* * *

"Cameron?" He walked into her room. The bed was empty, but he could hear water running in the bathroom. She must be in the shower. House went over and cracked the door just enough to poke his head in, just to make sure everything was okay. He listened to the water run for a minute and was turning to leave when he heard the quiet, yet still audible sound of a sob come from the shower.

"Cameron, are you okay?"  
No answer.

He walked into the bathroom completely and grabbed a towel from the bar. Then he walked to the shower, and taking a deep breath, pushed the curtain aside.

Cameron was sitting on the floor, furiously scrubbing away at her chest.

"Christ." House immediately shut off the water, and got down as carefully and painlessly as he could in front of her. "Cameron! Stop." He grabbed her hands to stop the chafing.

Taking a good, long look, he saw that she had scoured herself raw on the spots where the assailant had groped her. House thought he was going to vomit, his stomach clenched so hard.

"Okay, Cam… Allison… you have to stand up. I can't help you if you don't get up."  
She looked up at him, shivering from the cold and emotion. Slowly she got up, holding the towel against her. House grabbed her bathrobe off of the door and helped her into it. Then he slowly helped her walk to the bed.

"Lay down, okay? Do you need anything?"

She shook her head.

"Let me see the damage…" She nodded and shrugged the robe down around her shoulders. Then she showed him her thighs. "You can't see it…" she muttered, more to herself than House.

"Allison, what happened?"

"I could still feel where he touched me. It wouldn't go away." It came out in a whisper.

For the second time, House felt like he was going to be sick. She shouldn't have to go through this. No woman should have to go through this. He didn't want to imagine how a woman that was actually raped felt. He took a deep breath.

"Do you want me to take care of these abrasions or should I get a nurse to do it?"

"No, it's okay," she said. "I trust you. You can do it."

* * *

After House patched her up, Cameron fell back asleep. He stared at her for a few minutes, trying to understand the pain she was going through. For instance, he had to live with the pain of his infarction for the rest of his life. She had to live with the fact that she was very intimately violated for the rest of her life. He came to the conclusion that her pain was a billion times worse.

* * *

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you felt that way."

"No," House replied looking up from his computer to see Wilson in the doorway. "I shouldn't have yelled earlier. I think this has got us all on edge a bit." He let out a sharp laugh that sounded almost like a sob. "I found her in the shower. She scoured her chest and legs raw where he had touched her."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. I don't know what to do. It seems that when you, Chase and Foreman are with her she's okay. When I'm with her, she's an emotional wreck."

"Wouldn't you be," Wilson countered. "You're probably catching her at some of her worse moments. Don't think it's you."

"She won't talk to me, though. Won't tell me what she's going through. It's Cameron, Wilson. I want to help her."

"She'll open up, Greg. Just give her time."

House rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. For once in his life, he was totally at a loss. He usually had his snark and sarcasm to fall back on, but, at this point in time, he found even that was missing.


	4. Doctor, Heal Thyself

Title: Damaged 

Summery: Just read…  
Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist.  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play.

_Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to get the next chapter up! Real life got in the way LOL_

_**Koru-chan**: Thanks for all the squeeing! **Lilac Elf: **Thank you m'dear! I was waiting to see if you were going to pop up for the next chapter! Yay! **Enchanted April: **The chapter is done! Stop harassing me! LOL Just kidding babe! **Angeloneus: **Thank you. I appreciate your honest opinion. And to all of my other loyal readers who I missed this time around, I love you all! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!_

_**Three Days Later**_

"Why are you discharging her?"

Dr. Cuddy didn't even look up at House when he barged in. "Good morning to you too, Dr. House. I assume you're talking about Dr. Cameron."

"Correct, Captain Obvious."

"There is nothing physically wrong with her. She can go home."

"What about psych evaluations? Therapists? Did they say she could leave?"

"The first evaluation concluded that there was no significant mental or emotional damage. After that, she refused any other examinations."

"What," House boomed out. "Did you not hear how she decided to peel herself like an orange in the shower?"

"Yes," Cuddy replied with a sigh. "That's when she refused to talk to anyone else." She got up from her desk and walked around to where he was standing. "House, she's a grown woman. She has to make her own choices, right or wrong. You have to let her get through this in her own way. The only thing you can do for her right now is support her."

He looked like he was going to say something, then changed his mind and walked out.

* * *

"So, I hear you are leaving today."

"Yes. I feel fine and I am ready to go home," Cameron replied. She didn't bother to look in House's direction while she packed up what little belongings she had with her.

"Are you sure you feel fine?"  
"Yes," she said, gritting her teeth. "I'll do a jig for you if you'd like."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

"Cameron," he said, coming toward her, "I'm just—"

"And I'm telling you to drop it," she said, whirling around to face him. "I'm sick of being in the hospital. I just want to go home."

House's face became unreadable. "Fine," he snapped, "but don't expect to be coming to work next week."

"What? You're firing me?"

"No. You are taking a leave of absence. I can't have someone who can't face their own pain heal others." He turned his head away. "And Foreman will accompany you out of the hospital, to your car and your apartment."

"Can't," a voice said from behind him. "Cuddy somehow got wind that you were sending me with her. She won't let me leave the hospital until my shift is over."

"Well, Chase will go then," he said, turning to see Foreman.

"Sorry. She nixed that too."

"I am FINE," Cameron exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "Foreman will walk me to my car and I'll go home. By myself. Alone. Okay?"

For the second time that day, House walked out without getting the last word in.

* * *

**2:30 pm**

"Ready to hightail it out of here?"

"Hightail," she questioned, raising her eyebrows at Foreman.

"'Blow this joint' is highly overused. Hop in."

Cameron stuck out her bottom lip and pouted. "Do I have to use the wheelchair?"

"Come on, you know it's hospital policy."

"Fine," she said plopping down in the chair. "Just make sure you go really fast."

Foreman laughed. "Anything for the pretty lady."

They stopped by the nurse's station so Cameron could thank them for everything they did for her. Then Foreman proceeded to zip her around the hallways like she asked.  
When they finally got out of the hospital, he walked her to her car. "Listen," he said, "if you really want me to, I'll come home with you. Make sure you get there safe. What's Cuddy going to do, fire me?"

She smiled softly. "Thank you, Foreman, but no. I'll be okay, I promise."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. No." She blew out a sigh of exasperation. "I can't believe he's forcing me to stay home!"

"He's just worried about you, that's all."

"Funny way of showing it."

"Just take it easy for a week. Relax. And then come back."

"How can I relax? What I need to do is work and keep busy."

"He's right, though, Cam. How are you going to help others if you can't help yourself first?"

She shoved her hands in her pockets, defeated. "Okay. But only a week."

He gave her a quick hug. "Any longer and I'd come drag you back myself."

* * *

"Six o'clock. Dr. House checks out."

He was tired. Mentally and physically. And he was still worried about Cameron. He wondered if he was too hard on her earlier. She needed more help than she admitted. But how do you help someone who doesn't let you? He shook his head and made his way out to the garage.

House passed by the spot that Cameron's car was parked… Cameron's car was parked? He glanced at his watch. Yep. It still said 6:00pm. She was discharged over 2 hours ago. _Maybe someone drove her home…_ he thought. He started to walk away, but saw a shadow move on the other side. House walked around to the front end to find Cameron sitting on the ground in front of her car. She had her arms wrapped around her knees and had a faraway look in here eyes.

"Run out of gas?"

"Nope."

"Battery die?"

"Nope."

"Pray tell, then, my dear, why you are sitting, alone and unprotected, on the damp, dank floor of the parking garage."

She finally looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "I couldn't go back in there. Where it happened."

House's chest constricted and he closed his eyes. That was it. The final straw. "Get up," he said to her.

"What?"

"I said get up. Grab your things. You're coming with me."

"Where are we going?"

"To your place to pick up a few things. You'll be staying with me the next week."

"House, I'm--"

"You say 'I'm fine' again, and so help me I will cane you," he said angrily. "How fine are you, sitting in front of your car like a zombie where anyone can get to you?"

Her shoulders shook with silent sobs.

"I'm sorry, Cameron, but it's true. You need some professional help, but you're not taking it. So until you can sort yourself out, you are staying with me. Okay?"

"Okay," she whispered.

"Okay."

* * *

They went to her apartment and she picked up only the necessary things. Clothes, makeup, the rest of her bath stuff, and some cds she just couldn't live without. Then they made their way to House's place. By time they got home, it was past 8:00pm.

He lived in a small, one story condo in a surprisingly nice area only about 2 miles from the hospital. It had 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a kitchen, living room and dining room, and was mostly decorated in tans and browns. _Very male, _Cameron thought.

"You'll be staying in there," House said, gesturing towards the second bedroom. "I made it into my study, but there's a futon that opens up into a bed. You can use that."

"Thanks."

"I don't have much food. Picky eater, you know. So if you want or need anything, there's a ShopRite up the road. And as long as you don't leave your girly things everywhere, things will be peachy."

"Okay."

He tilted his head to look at her. "You feeling okay? Not very talkative. Usually I can't get you to shut up."

"I'm just tired. I think I'm going to take a shower and go to sleep." House gave her a look.

"What," she asked. Then she remembered the last time he was around when she showered. "Oh. That. I have showered since then and nothing has happened, okay?"

"Just leave the door unlocked—just in case."

"Fine. Good night Dr. House."

* * *

He stayed up a while later just pondering the events of the past week. Finally, his brain couldn't take it anymore and he had to get some rest. He pulled on a pair of flannel night pants, doffed his shirt, took 2 Vicodin and settled in for a good nights' rest. He hoped Cameron was doing the same.

_**A/N:** This is a revised version of the chapter. I tried posting it earlier, but is acting all crazy again, so it didn't go up right away. Makes me very grumpy, especially since I am not too happy with the way this part turned out. I've been struggling with it for the past few days. Hope it's still okay, and I have the next chappy outlined already. I think it's going to turn out better._


	5. Satruday

Title: Damaged 

Summery: Just read…  
Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist.  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play.

_Author's Note: Just to clarify days and times. Chapter 1 took place on a Monday night, Chapters 2 and 3 on Tuesday, and Chapter 4 three days later on Friday. It is now Saturday morning._

_**JasonsDaughter:** Thanks for catching up on all my stories! Always glad to see another reader! **SobePeachTea:** Thanks! I'm defiantly not as good as the writers of House, but it's always good to be com_pared to them! **Mariel3**: _Thank you! I'm glad you like, and I definitely try to keep the characters in, well, character! LOL_

**3:00 am**

The first thing House thought when he woke up was, _Oh shit, I'm gonna die._ He felt pins and needles shooting down his left shoulder down his arm and into his hand. It was starting to go numb. And there was a heaviness across his chest, like a weight was laid down there._ I'm going to die, _he thought again. _Heart attack._ House raised his left arm but found he couldn't. _This just keeps getting better. _

He shook his head to clear it of the rest of its sleep-induced grogginess. House couldn't do anything until he could think clearly. Then, he heard a very quiet, yet distinguishable noise, and everything suddenly became right in the world. Well, not the world, but he realized he wasn't going to die. Cameron was snoring lightly next to him.

Thankfully, there was a lamp on the right side of the bed, so he reached over and turned it on. He glanced over at his new companion. She was lying on her side, head and neck in the crook of his shoulder and arm thrown across his chest. _Well, that explains the tingling and heaviness. _Her mouth was slightly open, and her hair fell over her forehead and cheek. For the first time since the attack, she looked peaceful.

He carefully brushed the hair out of her eyes. House looked at her closer, noticing smudges on her cheeks. Dried tears. She was crying in her sleep. He sighed. _Maybe not so peaceful after all._ He reached over and shut the lamp.

House then reached over and awkwardly began to stroke her arm. He wasn't used to having to comfort people, awake or asleep. Hence why he avoided grief stricken patients and families the most. But here he was trying to make Cameron as comfortable as possible.

"It'll be okay, Cameron," he said to the open room. "Just take it one day at a time."

She made a content noise and snuggled in closer to him. In a few minutes, he was asleep again.

* * *

When he woke up in the morning, she was gone.

House sat up with a start, grimacing at the pain in his leg from the unusual movement. He reached over and grabbed a Vicodin before getting out of bed. Then he made his way to find out where Cameron went to.

Not in the bathroom.

Not in the study/bedroom.

Not in the living room.

Wait… he smelled something. Bacon? He had bacon in the freezer? House slowly walked over to the kitchen and leaned against the doorway. He gave a sigh of relief. She didn't run away. Just ran to the kitchen.

"Morning."

Cameron jumped at the voice. "Oh! You scared me, House." She turned her attention back to the stove. "Want some coffee? When you mentioned that you didn't have much food, boy, you weren't kidding!"

"Apparently I had bacon and eggs."

"No, ShopRite had bacon and eggs. I took a trip up there this morning. You apparently never have."

House ignored that comment and fixed himself a cup of coffee. "So, how was your first night on the futon? Did you sleep well?"

He smiled as he saw Cameron give a little start, and he swore he saw her cheeks flush slightly.

"Umm… yes, I did, thank you. Very comfortable." She cleared her throat. "How about you?"

"Like a baby. Except," he said, rotating his arm for effect, "I think I slept on my left side wrong. My shoulder aches a bit this morning." He smiled into his coffee mug as he saw her flush again.

"Well, I'm sure when you take a Vicodin for your leg, that'll clear right up." She fixed him up a plate and put it on the table. "Now sit down and eat."

"Yes sir," he said giving her a mock salute. "So. Bacon and eggs. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"If you haven't had one yet from all those ruebens you're eaten, it's safe to say that this won't hurt you… too much."

House glanced over at her. She seemed better today, happier. She was smiling more and she was definitely showing a bit of her old attitude. Not to mention she worked his kitchen like she belonged there. It was good to see.

Cameron sat down next to him with her own plate. "So what are you plans today?"

"It's Saturday," he said, as if that would explain everything.

"So? What do you normally do on Saturdays?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Not even watch a movie? Read a book?"

"Do you understand what nothing means?"

"Well, I can't sit around and do nothing all day. I'll have to go out and find something to do."

"No, you won't."

"Excuse me," Cameron said in disbelief. "Did you just tell me I couldn't go out?"

Shit. It wasn't supposed to sound like that. "I meant, I don't want you going out by yourself."

"House, I'm going to have to be by myself eventually. Get used to it."

"Just not yet. It's too soon."

Cameron understood that he didn't only mean physically too soon. She nodded her head slightly. "So. Does that mean you're volunteering to go out with me today?"

Shit, again. "Well… ahhh… I don't know…" She couldn't stay cooped up indoors all weekend. He knew that. "Fine. I'll go with you."

She gave him a warm smile. "Thank you, House."

* * *

They spent all of Saturday shopping. It actually wasn't as bad as House thought it would be. She didn't drag him around any clothing stores, just bookstores, music stores and electronics. He even picked up an item or two himself. Shopping was actually… dare he say it? Fun.

By the time they were done, it was almost 6 pm. They picked up some Chinese food and decided to go see a movie: The Amityville Horror.

"You do know this was a hoax, right?"

"Shut up and enjoy the movie."

"And the original was kick ass, so this is probably going to suck."

"Would you stop?"

"Just don't grab my leg if you get scared. It hurts enough as it is."

"You want a double limp? Then. Shut. Up."

The movie wasn't half bad. Wasn't great, but watchable. Afterwards, tired, yet satisfied, they finally went home.

"Thank you for spending the day with me, House. It was great to actually go out and do something for the first time in a week."

"Yes. And I had… what's that word?"

"Fun," Cameron said with a giggle.

"That's it! Fun."

She smiled. "I'm going to hit the sack. I'm exhausted. See you tomorrow."

"G'night."

He went to bed shortly after her. Shortly after 3am, he was woken up by a warm body next to his. Cameron. House just gathered her closer to him and went back to sleep.


	6. And In This Corner

Title: Damaged 

Summery: Just read…  
Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist.  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play.

_Author's Note: **JasonsDaughter:** Well, duh! LOL Kidding! Course I'm a HUGE Cam/House shipper! **CENic13:** Thanks for the flower! It's next to my computer now bg **Rain: **See, I knew something was missing lately! Good to see you back! **Koru-chan:** She just keeps on squeeing and squeeing and squeeing… LOL Thanks for the great reviews! **Albino's lady: **I'm so nice, she reviewed twice! Great to see a new reader! Thanks! **Lilac Elf: **Those quotes after your reviews are killing me! What are you doing when you're not writing? **Belligerent-road-pylon:** I think that might come later : - )_

**Monday**

"Dr. House, the police finally came back with the results from the prints on Cameron's car," Dr. Cuddy said walking into House's office with a file.

"It only took them a friggin' year to do it," he grumbled. "Gimmie it."

She dropped the file on his desk. As he started to read it, Cuddy began to rattle off facts about the criminal. "Kevin Breaker. 34. He was apparently arrested for assault twice, but other than that, no reports of sexual abuse or rape."

"And assault is just dandy?"

"No, House, it's not." She sighed. "Listen, we don't know if the guy is going to come back to try and finish the job, or if from some godforsaken reason he injures himself and winds up coming here. I am going to have his picture posted all around the hospital so people know who to look out for and to call 911 ASAP." She turned to walk out.

"Are the police searching for him," House asked quietly.

Her hand paused on the doorknob. "I hope to god they are." She walked out.

* * *

"House, can I see you for a minute?"

"Hold on a sec, this is fascinating. So tell me again why you think you have hypothyroidism?"

The clinic patient took a deep breath and started to explain. "Well, I've been awfully tired all the time and I seem to have these periods I can't remember. I've gained 10 pounds in a month. And—"

"House," Wilson said, extremely agitated, "this is important. I need to speak with you _now_."

"Oookay. Be right back," he said over his shoulder to the patient. As they exited Exam room 1, Wilson grabbed House by the arm and dragged him over to an exam room across the way.

"Umm, could you slow down? There's that problem with my leg…"

"Shut up and look in there." The blinds in the room were open. House glanced in to see a guy sitting up on the table, glancing around the room and generally looking bored. "One of the nurses grabbed me because she recognized the guy from the picture Cuddy had posted in every nook and cranny here."

House's hand trembled as it gripped the top of his cane with so much pressure his knuckles turned white. The man in the exam room had gouges down the side of his face and neck that looked slightly infected. From Cameron's nails.

"That's him."

"I know. The nurses already called the police. They should be here soon. Don't worry he can't get out. They locked him in." He looked at the guy one more time. "I hope those scratches get so infected they have to peel his face off." Wilson turned to go back to work.

Fury was radiation off House like he had never felt before. He was filled with a rage that he couldn't explain. He looked in the window again. There Kevin Breaker sat like he hadn't a care in the world. Like he hadn't tried to rape anybody. House had never in his life wanted to kill someone before.

A minute later, Wilson realized that House hadn't followed him. His eyes opened wide. _Oh shit, doctors have master keys to all the exam rooms!_ He turned around and ran back to the room.

* * *

It only lasted a minute, but it seemed like forever. House unlocked the door without thinking and launched himself at Kevin Breaker. He didn't even notice the pain in his leg or the fact that he dropped his cane. All he noticed where his hands around Kevin's neck.

"You think you can just attack anyone? Huh?"

He threw him to the floor and picked the cane up from its resting place.

"You think you can attack innocent women?" Up went the cane and down went the cane. It made a sickening thud against his body. "You think—" Again. "you can—" Again. "try to rape women?" Again. "Rape my Cameron?" This time when the cane fell, it snapped.

Wilson came rushing into the room and grabbed House around his waist and pulled him away from Kevin. "House, enough! He's had enough!"

"That piece of shit hasn't had enough! He's not dead yet!"

Wilson continued to pull the struggling man out of the room. With a mighty yank, he stumbled and both of them fell on the floor. He rolled over and grabbed House by his lapels. "Listen to me. The cops are on their way. Except now they'll have two people to arrest instead of one. Now I'm going to grab what's left of your cane and we are going to go back to your office." He got up and grabbed the first nurse he saw. "Carol, when the police get here, you can direct them to House's office. This has got to be at least assault and battery."

"Why," Carol asked. "I didn't see anything." She looked around. "Did anyone see anything here?"

There was a chorus of 'no' and shaken heads. "That guy got what he deserved."

"Great," Wilson said, throwing his hands in the air. "Now we're lying to the police. Just great."

* * *

House had ripped open the infected scratches with his cane and from the looks of it had also shattered his nose and cheekbone. The nurses locked the bleeding man back in the exam room to wait for the police.

With assistance from Wilson, they made their way back to House's office. Foreman and Chase were in the conference room and saw the disheveled duos return. They rushed in to see what happened.

"What's going on," Chase asked. "What happened to your cane?"

Foreman stood back, recognizing the rage that still played across House's features. "That guy came back, didn't he?"

"Yeah. He won't be going anywhere for a long time now," Wilson answered. "He's locked in the clinic waiting for the police."

House closed his eyes and leaned his head back in his chair. He dug around in his pocket for the Vicodin. He leg was screaming in agony now.

"And Babe Ruth over here," Wilson continued, gesturing at House, "decided to take a few swings at him. Messed him up pretty good."

"You beat the shit out of a rapist," Foreman said in disbelief. "You?"

"Don't test me right now," House growled in reply. "Wilson, I have a spare cane in the 'Vette. Care to fetch?"

"No problem."

Foreman and Chase just stared at him in admiration.

"What? Never heard of a cripple beating up someone before? Go back to work before I fire both of you."

They both walked out of the office with a new respect for their irritable boss.

House tried to relax. He smiled as he remembered Wilson's last words to Kevin before they left for his office:

_"Listen to me you bastard. You got mugged. You came here for treatment. The nurses recognized you and called the police. You decided not to put up a fight and turn yourself in."_

"_Eat shit."_

"_I don't think so. You see, you left fingerprints all over Cameron's car. There are pictures of you posted all over this hospital."_

_Kevin paled._

"_You're done, Breaker. Give it up. Or," Wilson said, tapping his chin, "I could just sic Dr. House back on you. He looks like he could go another round. I'm sure he could give you a matching limp."  
Kevin swallowed repeatedly. _

"_So, you were mugged, right?"_

_He nodded._

"_You've never seen Dr. House or myself except for in the parking garage, correct?"_

_He nodded again._

"_And you are turning yourself in."_

"_Yes," Kevin practically whispered._

"_Good," Wilson said, walking out. "Don't drop the soap."_

House chuckled slightly. Wilson could be very evil if he wanted to. It didn't come out very often, but he had a mean streak in him.

He sighed. God, he was going to look forward to that asshole's day in court. Then he sobered as he remembered Cameron. He was going to have to break this news to her when he got home. Dammit. It could either go very good or very bad. He was going to have to tread water very carefully.


	7. Revelations

Title: Damaged 

Summery: Just read…  
Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist.  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play.

_Author's Note: Hey everyone! I hate to do this (well, not really LOL) but I am going to pimp myself out. I have another story up—it's a co-written story by myself and The Lilac Elf of Lothlorien. It's a House/Law and Order: SVU crossover. The title is "When Worlds Collide" by The Orange Elf of Oblivion. Go check it out : - )_

**Monday Evening**

House left the hospital at 5pm with a feeling of dread in his stomach. Worrying about how Cameron was going to react… well frankly it was freaking him out. Either she was going to be happy that he was finally behind bars, or she was going to freak and bring up the memory of the attack again. The weekend went so well, and she was doing much better. A smile flittered across his face as he remembered how she crawled in to bed with him again on Saturday and Sunday night. Every time, she was gone before he woke up. He sobered up quickly. He didn't want to see her go through a relapse. House had come to realize that he cared more about Cameron that he wanted to admit. Maybe she was right about him all along.

He parked in his designated space, and slowly made the way to his front door. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped in.

"Cameron?"

No answer. She had to be home. All the lights were on and he could hear the TV blaring. TV blaring… 5 o'clock news… House hurried into the living room. He found Cameron sitting on the floor staring at the TV. There was liquid and glass all around her.

The fucking news had beaten him too it.

House very carefully got down as much as his leg would let him. "Cameron," he said quietly, "are you okay?"

"He's gone?"

"Yes, they arrested him this afternoon."

"The report said 5 other women came forward."

House's anger flared up again quickly. _Wilson should have given me five more minutes._ Instead, he said, "He won't be hurting anyone else ever again."

Cameron just nodded.

House gestured to the mess on the floor. "What happened here?"

"I was getting a drink and watching the news when they flashed his picture on the TV. I squeezed the glass so hard, it broke."

"Did you hurt yourself? Lemme see your hand." He pried her clenched fist open. There was a piece of glass stuck in her palm, and a few other oozing scratches, but nothing that needed serious attention.

"I'm sorry, I'll buy you another glass."

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "Can you get up and go sit on the couch while I get stuff to take care of your hand?"

She nodded again.

When he came back, she had cleaned up the mess on the floor and was seated and waiting on the couch. House took her hand in his lap and began to operate with a needle and tweezers. She looked around the room while he worked, her eye catching something.

"House, what happened to your other cane?"

"Oh," he said casually, "It broke."

"How?"

"I got angry and hit something."

"What exactly did you hit," Cameron asked, suddenly suspicious.

He looked up into her eyes and decided he couldn't lie to her. "Kevin Breaker, the guy who attacked you came into the clinic today." He paused as he heard her sharp intake of breath. "The police had sent a file with his picture in it to Cuddy and she posted that picture around the hospital in case he showed up again. You must have gouged him good, because he came in to have some infected scratches on his face looked at."

"I'm just sorry I missed his eyes," she said vehemently.

House nodded. "Anyway, the nurses recognized him and locked him in an exam room and called the police. Wilson saw him in there and came to get me."

He finally got the piece of glass out of her hand. He cleaned it with some peroxide, put some Neosporin on it, and wrapped it in gauze. "I saw him and, well, I snapped."

Cameron's mouth dropped open. "You beat him up?"

"So hard I broke my cane in half. I would have killed him if Wilson didn't pry me off," he admitted.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Hey, nobody gets to hurt you but me," he said, half jokingly, knowing that he has caused her some emotional pain.

She smiled at him. "That's right," she whispered.

* * *

They ordered take out for dinner. It was a quiet evening, without much more talking going on. Cameron was still in her own little world after finding out that her attacker had been arrested. Finally, after a very distracted evening, she headed off to bed. Just before he was going to crash, too, the phone rang.

"What?"

"Good evening to you too."

"Good evening, Wilson. What do you want?"

"Please. Like I was calling to check on you. I wanted to see how Cameron took the news."

"I'm not sure," House replied. "She had the TV on and saw it on there before I got to her."

"Was she okay?"

"I guess so. She broke a glass when she found out, but otherwise… I think she's still in shock from it. That she doesn't have to be afraid of him anymore."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Again, I don't know. She's been distracted all day."

"Just keep an eye on her for a few days."

"Will do. As a matter of fact, I'll keep both eyes on her, how's that?"

"You're a moron."

"Good night, Wilson."

House went to bed shortly after the phone call. It was around midnight. He had between 2 and 3 hours before Cameron would come to his room. And tonight, he was going to stay awake until she did.

_A/N: Sorry the chapter is a little short. I had some serious writer's block this time around. I wanted to make it longer, but my brain wouldn't let me LOL_


	8. Confrontations

Title: Damaged 

Summery: Just read…  
Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist.  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play.

_Author's Note: You all spoil me with your wonderful reviews! It's just amazing to see all of your support. Thanks so much! Sorry about the lateness of the chapter. I wasn't sure how I wanted this part to play out._

**2:30 am, Tuesday Morning**

Cameron rolled over and looked at the clock. 2:30am. She sighed and crawled out of bed. She heard House go to sleep over two hours ago, so she was sure he was out cold by now. Sleep would not come easy to her the past few days. She wasn't scared, per say, but she needed the extra comfort to put her mind at ease. Silently, she crept out of the room and towards his.

"House?" Cameron pushed the door open a crack and stuck her head in. "Are you awake," she whispered.

No answer. She opened the door a little more and tip toed in.

"Hey, you arrogant, belligerent, nasty, sorry excuse for a doctor, are you still conscious?" Cameron grinned to herself as silence greeted her. She figured if he were faking, that would make him show it. This was a game she played every night since she came here.

Very gently, she crawled into bed with House, snuggling up next to him. She let out a contented sigh and closed her eyes to let sleep overtake her.

"Now I'm hurt. I am so not a sorry excuse for a doctor!"

Her eyes flew open and, in the moonlight, she could see House's blue ones staring right at her.

"Gaahh!" Cameron promptly jolted up and in the process fell off of the bed. "Oooff."

He flicked on the lamp and then leaned over her side of the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, no thanks to you," she said rubbing her hip. "What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?"

"I could ask the same thing of you."

"What do you mean?"

"What are you doing crawling into my bed at 3 in the morning--"

"It's 2:30," she grumbled.

"Every night for the past 4 nights," he continued. She just sat on the floor looking sullen. "Well?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Anything! Give me something to work with here! There has to be some reason why you can't sleep in your own bed. Tell me what's going on."

Cameron got up and tried to walk out of the room. Moving as quickly as he could, he followed her, grabbing her arm to stop her escape.

"Allison, you have to talk to me. I can't help you if you don't."

"What do you want to hear, huh? That I can't sleep at night? That I replay what happened over and over again every time I close my eyes? That I don't want to be alone because I think he's going to come get me?" She wretched her arm out of his grasp. "Is that what you wanted to hear? That I'm weak? You thought I was damaged before. Well, now I really am."

Cameron walked to the living room and slumped on the couch drained.

House step-thumped over to her and grabbed her chin in his hand, forcing her to look up at him. She was surprised to see a bit of anger shining in his eyes. "Now you listen to me, young lady. Being afraid doesn't make you weak. It's a natural reaction to a horrible situation. But you can't let it rule your life." He released her face and took a seat on the couch. "Allison, you are not weak. What you went through… You're stronger than you realize. But you're keeping it all inside and now you're cracking under the strain. You need help carrying that load."

She had tears trickling down her cheeks at this point. "How? Who's going to want to carry that weight?"

"Me."

Cameron looked up at him. There was no sarcasm or humor on his face. "Thank you."

"You have to promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"The hospital has group therapy twice a week for victims of rape and sexual assault. They can help you more than I can. Will you start going?"

"I don't need—" She paused. "I guess denial is also a sign that I need help, huh?"

"Ya think?"

She took a deep breath. "Yes, I will start going."

He tilted his head and looked at her long and hard. "You know, you don't have to be afraid of him anymore. He's gone."

"I know. But I'm probably going to have to pick him out of a line up and go to court and see him over and over again." She put her head in her hands. "I can't do that."

House put his arm around her shoulders. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to. There are 5 other women they can use. Maybe they'll get all they need out of them."

"God, I hope so."

"And if not, I'll be there with you, okay? You won't have to go through anything alone."

Cameron looked at him. And looked some more.

"What," he asked, squirming under her scrutiny.

"Who are you and what did you do with the real Gregory House?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're being… nice and comforting. Not sarcastic. Serious. It's kind of strange."

"Fine. Next time you spill your guts about how you feel, I'll make fun of you. Will that make you feel better?"

She thought for a second. "Actually, it might."

"Hmm. Maybe I have to work on this 'niceness' thing."

"Well, if I told people you were nice, they would never believe me."

House thought for a second. "Wait, I changed my mind! Then people would expect me to be nice all the time. Don't you dare ruin my reputation at the hospital! My character would be destroyed."

She laughed. When she sobered, they both sat in silence for the next few minutes, contemplating the situation. All of a sudden, Cameron leaned over and gave him a hug. After the initial shock, he slowly wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you for everything. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been around."

"You would have found some way to hang in there. I know you." He released her. "Now, let's get some sleep."

They got up and headed towards the bedrooms. When House got to his doorway, he noticed that Cameron was no longer behind him. He turned around and saw her going back into the guest bedroom.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to bed. What are you doing?"

"Why are you going in there," he asked, ignoring her question.

"Because it's my room. What's wrong with you?"

"You haven't used it before. You're going to start now?"

Cameron blushed furiously. "And Nice!House is gone."

He just stuck out his hand and waited. She stared at it wondering what was going on.

"Come on, come on," he said snapping his fingers. "Some of us want to get some kind of sleep tonight."

She walked over to him and slipped her hand in his. They walked into his bedroom hand in hand. He lay down first, and after getting comfortable, patted the area next to him. She crawled in, a little shyly, not having done this while he was awake before. He shut the lamp and gathered her close to him.

"Good night, House."

"Good night Allison. And don't worry. Everything is going to be okay." He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead, so light that she wasn't sure that he kissed her. But he did. And she swore she heard him let out a contented sigh. Cameron smiled to herself. Everything was going to be just fine.

The end (possibly…. There may be another chapter or two left… we'll see)


	9. Formalities

**Title: Damaged **

**Summery: Just read…  
Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist.  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play.**

_Author's Note: ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT! You all guilted me into writing more chapters! sigh My fans are never satisfied LOL I'm just kidding all. You know how much of a great big happy it is to know how you all like my writing. I totally appreciate it. This chapter is going to be a little short since it's been a while since I wrote for this story. I have some ideas, so I think I can carry this story on a while longer. And the coming chapters will be longer, I promise. I just needed to get back into the swing of things with this chapter.  
_

The next day, the police called Cameron to come down to the precinct to fill out some formalities. After the call, she looked up at House with troubled eyes.

He came over and put his hands on her shoulders. "I told you, I'd be there with you. You can do this."

She took a deep, shaky breath. "I can do this."

"Good girl. Let's go get ready and get this over with."

* * *

Half an hour and a call to Dr. Cuddy later, they were at the station house. The first thing they wanted her to do was to pick Kevin Breaker out of a line up. She looked up at the detective on the case. "Can he come in with me," she asked, pointing to House. "I need the support."

"Husband or boyfriend?"

"My doctor." It wasn't exactly a lie, but the detective didn't need to know that.

"Fine. He needs to stay quiet though."

Cameron nodded her head to House, gesturing that he could come over. As she opened the door to the lineup room, she felt a warm hand in hers. She looked up to see House right next to her, looking into her eyes with concern. Her heart constricted to see that he actually cared about her.

"Don't worry," she said, giving him a brave smile. "I can do this."

"I know you can." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

They entered the room and waited while the five suspects were hoarded in, one after another.

"Okay, Dr. Cameron, let us know if you see who attacked you up there."

She took a deep breath and looked at the men standing before her. Of course there was one that stood out. The face she would never forget, now marred by freshly reopened gouges. "Number 3. That's him."

"Thank you."

The detective escorted them out of the room. "This was just a formality. He's pleading guilty to all of the attacks. We just needed to make sure yours was one of them."

"He's pleading guilty? So you dragged her down here to revisit that bastard as a formality?" House was livid.

"We need to make sure how many counts we can get him on."

"You guys are so ass backwards, I swear to fucking god. Do you need us for any more formalities?"

"We just need Dr. Cameron to go over her statement one more time for us," the detective replied, blushing furiously.

"Do I have to go to court," Cameron said, her first words since picking Breaker out of the lineup.

"No, I don't believe so. He's pleading out, so there won't be a trial. You can go to the arraignment and sentencing only if you want to."

"No that's quite alright. Now, what about my statement?"

Another half hour later and they were on their way home. House looked at Cameron out of the corner of his eye. She looked a little pale, just staring out of the passenger side window. "Hey," he said, getting her attention. "How are you feeling?"

"Glad it's over," she said with a sigh, looking at him. "I never really have to see him again?"

"Like the detective said, only if you want to."

"Then it's really over."

"Almost."

"What do you mean?"

"Until you can come to terms with everything, it will never be over. Remember what we talked about last night?"

"Yes, House. I know. And I promised you that I would start therapy this week. I'll call then as soon as we get home."

House smiled at her and took her hand. "That's my girl."

Cameron had to look back out the window to hide her grin.

"Now, Dr. Cuddy gave me the day off. How about we do a movie and Chinese again?"

She couldn't get over his change in personality since her attack. Still a sarcastic bastard, but more... friendlier? caring? Cameron couldn't place it.

"Sounds good to me," she replied.

"Good. But I get to choose the movie this time. None of that "Amityville Horror" remake crap again. We're going to go see 'Batman Begins'."

* * *

After dinner and the movie, Cameron was more relaxed. And tired. The day took a lot out of her. On the way home, she closed her eyes just for a second.

House looked over at her. She was out cold. He reached over and laid a hand on her cheek. She made a content noise, and pushed her cheek into his hand. House smiled, and then frowned. He took his hand away and put it on his chest. There was a pain there that he couldn't quite place. It wasn't sharp, dull, or aching. It was just there. He paled when he came to a stunning conclusion. "Oh no," he said softly. "Not again." He was falling in love with Allison Cameron.


	10. Therapy

**Summery: Just read… **

**Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist. **

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play. Song "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt**

**_A/N: Again, sorry about the delay in chapters. I wish I could thank you all by name for your wonderful reviews, but that would take up like 5 pages! LOL Anyway, on with the show!_**

**Tuesday, 6 weeks later**

Like he did every Tuesday and Thursday, House sat on a chair in the hallway sucking on a lollipop, waiting for Allison to come out of the support group meeting. He made a habit of walking her down to the first floor after they got off of work at 5pm and waited for her so they could go home together.

Home.

If she was still staying with him.

During the first week of therapy, things were pretty much normal. She'd crawl into bed with him every night, go grocery shopping twice a week, make sure all of his soaps were taped for him when he got home. The second week, House finally allowed her to come back to work. Half of the nights he had noticed she stayed in her room. The third week, she didn't come to him once. After the fourth week of therapy, she told him she was ready to go back to her own apartment.

"_House, I can't believe I've imposed on you for almost a month and a half!"_

"_You were in no condition to be by yourself."_

"_I know, I know. But I feel better than I have in ages. And I think it's time for me to go home."_

"_If that's what you want."_

"_It's not that I don't appreciate what you've done for me." She gave him a soft smile. "You saved my life, in more ways than one. Thank you."_

_House cleared his throat. "Yes, well, we'll take care of everything over the weekend. Now I need to get some rest. See you in the morning."_

"_Good night."_

Cameron was now in her sixth week of therapy and doing wonderfully. House was in his second week of living by himself again, and feeling more alone than ever. He was happy, though, that she was finally getting better. He wanted nothing more than for her to be happy.

But here he was, every Tuesday and Thursday, he still walked Cameron down to her meeting and took her home. He didn't want to take the chance of her getting attacked again.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

House looked up to see Cameron standing over him. "Done already?"

"Yeah. Tuesdays are usually a bit shorter. You know," she said, waving at a few of the people walking out, "some of the girls are really creeped out by you sitting out here every session."

"Well, discuss it next time. That's what therapy's for. Talking things out."

"Haha."

"In the mood for stopping for some food tonight," he asked, getting up. "I'm starved."  
"Are you ready, Allison," came a voice from behind them.

Cameron bit her lip apologetically. "I'm so sorry House, I forgot. I made plans with Dr. Stevens for dinner tonight after therapy." Dr. Stevens was a nice, young surgeon who had helped them with a case earlier in the week.

"Nice to see you again, Dr. House."

"Mmm."

"Well, we had better be off, Allison, or we're going to be late." He looped his arm in hers, and they started to walk out.

"I'm sorry House," she called over her shoulder. "Thursday night! Chinese and a movie! You're choice!"

House stood in the hallway, dumbfounded and a little… hurt? He didn't like all these unusual feelings Cameron brought out in him. They made him uncomfortable. Caring, love, hurt… they were all things he thought were long gone. _And now so is she, _he thought staring at the doctors' retreating backs.

**Thursday, 4:50 pm**

"House," Cameron called, poking her head in his office. Not there. She walked into the conference room. "Hey, guys, have you seen Dr. House recently?"

"Nope," answered Chase. "Haven't seen him in hours."

"Yeah, he's been pretty much MIA all day," Foreman added.

Well, this was unusual. This would be the first time in 6 and a half weeks that she would be walking down to therapy alone. It unnerved her a bit.

"Okay. If you see him on your way out, tell him I'm down in group, okay?"

"No problem.," said Chase. "See you tomorrow."

Cameron walked out with a frown on her face. Actually, she hadn't seen House all day. This felt very off.

Two hours later, she walked out of group, fully expecting House and his lollipop to be waiting for her. She had told him that they would do dinner and a movie afterwards tonight. But the hallway was empty. Why the hell would he ditch her like this?

House sat at his piano with a glass of scotch and his thoughts. This was why he didn't want to get close to Cameron. All of those mushy, lovey doevey feelings were back. It took him long enough to accept them when he was with Stacy. Now, Cameron was flaunting her new, younger boyfriend right in front of his face. He couldn't have that. He was Gregory House, bastard extraordinaire. He worked long and hard to be the asshole he was, and by god, he wasn't about to give up that feature! He needed to push his feeling aside, and accept the fact that he wasn't made for her. But after avoiding Cameron all day, the pit in the bottom of his stomach just got wider and deeper. Sighing, he turned to the keys and started to hum a song he heard earlier today.

_**You're beautiful. You're beautiful. **_

_**You're beautiful, it's true. **_

_**There must be an angel with a smile on her face, **_

_**When she thought up that I should be with you. **_

_**But it's time to face the truth, **_

_**I will never be with you.**_


	11. Oh, No He Didn't!

**Summery: Just read… **

**Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist. **

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play. If I did own it, House would be locked away in a room somewhere just for me.**

**_A/N: Sorry about the delay in chapters yet again. Life has been rough for the past few months. Well, the entire year actually. But I'm getting back into the writing mode again. I'm actually working on all of my House stories right now, even the Veronica Mars crossover. So keep an eye out, I'll be updating more often now. Thanks to everyone who stuck around. Sorry this chapter is so short, but I'm just getting back into the swing of things so be patient._**

"Dr. House, may I have a word with you," Dr. Stevens asked, poking his head into the office.

House's eyes didn't leave his Gameboy. "Do you need a consult?"

"Well, no—"

"And neither do I. Go away."

Dr. Stevens ignored his order and stepped completely inside the office, closing the door. House still didn't look up but said, "It's Friday morning, doctor. I was planning on getting an early start on the weekend. You are beginning to ruin it."

Still ignoring him, Stevens proceeded to House's desk and sat down in the chair across from him.

House finally looked up. "Okay, now I'm annoyed. Do you not understand English? Because I can tell you to get the hell out in Hindi, Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin."

"This is about Dr. Cameron."

"What? Do you want to gossip about how good she is in bed," he snapped. "Sorry, I wouldn't know. Besides, I only gossip about those things with Wilson." He looked back down at his Gameboy. "I don't have time for you."

Stevens grabbed the toy out of House's hands and laid it in his lap. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," he said, angrily, "and will restrain myself from beating the hell out of you like someone should have a long time ago."

"And I'll pretend that you didn't just grab my Gameboy and I won't break your fingers. After all," he replied, swinging his cane up and slamming it down on the desk to make a point, "you are a surgeon."

They stared at each other for a minute in silence. Finally, Dr. Stevens spoke. "I am Allison's friend. I am not her boyfriend, and I am not sleeping with her."

House shrugged. "Your loss."

"Actually, if you don't get your head out of your ass, it will be your loss."

House glanced over at him quizzically.

"You know exactly what I mean, Dr. House." He paused. "As I was trying to say before, Allison has become a very good friend of mine. And people who purposely hurt my friends do not rank high in my book."

"So that's what this is about? She's upset because I didn't make it to therapy with her? Sue me for being busy!"

"After months of escorting her to and from therapy, all of a sudden you were busy." Stevens scoffed at the idea. "So maybe you were busy. You couldn't even let her know? You left a victim of sexual assault alone. She trusted you and you abandoned her."

"She needed to break free eventually," House muttered. "I was too accommodating to her."

"Eventually," he repeated. "Not cold turkey. She called me hysterical—after trying to get in touch with you of course, but you were avoiding her for some godforsaken reason—just so she had someone to walk her to her car. Do you know how hard it still is for her to walk through that parking lot?"

House turned his head to the side, silent and sullen. Dr. Stevens threw the Gameboy on the desk and got up to leave. "If you ever hurt her again, you'll be sorry."

"Or what? You'll beat up a cripple?"

"No, I don't need to," he answered, opening the door and walking out. "You're doing quite enough damage on your own."


	12. My Day Keeps Getting Better and Better

**Summery: Just read… **

**Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist. **

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play. If I did own it, House would be locked away in a room somewhere just for me.**

**_A/N: Look at this. Two updates in less than a week! Go me, go me! Anyway, hope you like! I've been working on Wilson, the Troublemaker a bit, but I have a bit of writer's block on that one. It may be a little longer for an update on that. But the Veronica Mars/House crossover should be updated in another day or two; I have that chapter almost done. If you haven't yet, go check it out! Pretty please? Thanks to all who stuck around for this story, and to all the new names I didn't recognize. I am SO feeling the love!_**

**A Few Minutes Earlier…**

Cameron walked into the conference room yawning, and headed straight for the coffee pot. For the first time since before she was staying with House, she didn't sleep. Yes, she regressed a little and was a little scared to go to sleep all alone, but mostly she was kept awake by thinking. Why on earth was House avoiding her? She knew he was, but for some reason she couldn't put a finger on it.

She was in the middle of pouring a cup of liquid caffeine when she saw Dr. Stevens enter House's office out of the corner of her eye. Cameron cringed, remembering her slightly panic stricken call to him last night.

"_I need help."_

"_What's wrong, Allison? Are you okay?"_

"_Yes. No. I don't know." She drew in a breath. "House never showed up before or after group and I just keep getting his answering machine and voicemail when I call."_

"_Are you worried about him? Do you need me to get Dr. Wilson or someone else?"_

"_No, it's just… he never misses. I didn't even see him at work today." She sighed. "And I still need him. I've been staring at the parking garage for the past 20 minutes. I can't bring myself to walk out there by myself yet."_

"_Do you need me to come down there? I'm only a few blocks away."_

"_Would you," Cameron asked, hopefully. "I know it's silly, but—wait one second." Dr. Stevens heard some rustling and indistinguishable voices in the background. "It's okay, Troy, Dr. Wilson just came down. He's going to walk me to my car."_

"_Okay, but if you need anything, give me a call. And call me when you get home so I know you got there okay."_

"_Will do."_

Thinking about it now, Cameron was a bit ashamed of her weakness. It's been 2 months, and she still couldn't walk through the garage by herself. She felt that she should be stronger than that by now.

All of a sudden, a loud bang came from House's office, and Cameron jumped, spilling coffee all down the front of her lab coat and shirt. "Goddman it," she yelped, looking over to see what caused the commotion. All she saw was House and Stevens locked in a stare down. Finally, one of them began to speak, but she couldn't hear any words. _What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall in there, _she thought. After another minute, Dr. Stevens left and House just sat there, looking pensive. But that only lasted a minute as he picked up the discarded Gameboy and went right back to video game land.

_Great,_ she thought, plopping down at the table, _just what I needed. Troy to give House an even bigger reason to avoid me. _ She was actually a bit irritated with this turn of events. _Now I have **another** surrogate brother to add to Chase, Foreman and Wilson._ Cameron sighed one more time and rubbed her forehead. _That's it. Next time, I keep my mouth shut and force myself to face my fears. After I buy some mace and a tazer, of course._

She looked up at House again. What went wrong? Up until Tuesday, things were fine. They usually hung out after therapy and even did things on weekends every now and then. It was a nice little routine they had going. But after she went out with Dr. Stevens and forgot to let him know about it… Cameron's eyes grew wide with realization.

Wait.

A.

Minute.

House wasn't mad at her. If he were mad at her, he'd be ragging on her incessantly. He wouldn't be avoiding her. No, this was quite the opposite.

House was jealous.

Cameron smiled sadly. The admission she had longed for so long ago had finally been revealed, albeit inadvertently.

Once again, a loud crash interrupted her train of thought. This time, she saw what made the noise. Dr. Wilson was now in House's office. Looking very angry. Cameron whimpered and put her head in her hands. This was going to be a very, VERY long day. She stood up and drained her mug. She didn't want to be around when the yelling from the office got louder. And she knew it was going to. For now, all she wanted was not to smell like coffee. It was off to find some clean scrubs and some aspirin. Suddenly, Cameron had a very bad headache.

* * *

Wilson stormed into House's office, paying no regard for the glass door he had to go through. It slammed against the wall before slowly swinging shut. 

"I'd like to know exactly how far up your ass your head is shoved, really. Because there is no way you'd pull such an asinine stunt without such an excuse."

"And a good morning to you, too."

He walked over to House and leaned down, placing his hands palm down on the desk to bring himself at eye level. "You had better give me a good reason for yesterday because I am this close," Wilson said, measuring a teeny bit of space between his thumb and forefinger, "to throttling you."

"Why is everyone threatening me with bodily harm today?"

"Because you deserve it! God—"

"No, Greg is fine."

"I am in no mood for any of your fucking jokes, House!"

House paused, chastised. He looked up at Wilson, who actually looked like he was going to stroke out any minute. "I don't think I've ever seen you this mad before."

"I've never been this mad before."

"Would you care telling me why?"

Wilson sat down and tried to calm himself. "Why have you been avoiding her for the past day and a half? Why the hell would you leave her alone on therapy day? She' s lucky that I was working late and was able to walk her to her car."

Aha. The other good doctor left out that little bit. "You too about Cameron? When did everyone become her savior?"

"Not everyone, you ass," he snapped back. "Just you. You're the person who she's been relying on for the past two months, the one who's been there for her."

"Yeah, well maybe I need to let go of the leash."

"Do you really believe that? Do you?"

House didn't answer him.

"That's what I thought." Wilson got up to leave. "You had better get over this little jealousy thing you have over Dr. Stevens otherwise you're going to lose her." With his hand on the doorknob, he threw out one more thing over his shoulder. "And if you don't find her and make things right and stop being a dick to her over this, you're going to find yourself less one friend. And that'll leave you with none."


	13. We Need to Talk

**Summery: Just read… **

**Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist. **

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play. **

**_A/N: Okay, even though I watch Law & Order religiously, I have no idea how long trials take and all that stuff. So, I made my own rules. Be warned!_**

_**Update: whoKMH was right. I didn't explain Cameron's mood swing completely. That is now fixed. Just an extra paragraph. Thanks for the point out! Hope this clears things up!**_

"House, may I have a word with you," Dr. Cuddy asked after lunch, stepping into his office.

"What? You too? It must be my lucky day."

"What are you talking about?"

"When you ream me, could you at least do it topless?"

She sat down across from him. "What did you do now?"

He tilted his head to look at her. "Ah. So you're not here to ream me." He paused. "Could you still do whatever you're going to do topless?"

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "No. And please don't use that word again. It's just… dirty. I prefer 'scold' or 'chastise' or 'reprimand'."

"Prude. So what are you here for?"

"Wait- I want to hear who you pissed off now."

"Go ask Wilson. You. Here. For. What?"

She laughed. "Wow. You pissed off Wilson. It must be really bad."

House scowled. "You're starting to bore me. What do you want?"

She cleared here throat and sobered. "The detectives who were working on Cameron's case called me about a half hour ago. You do know that Kevin Breaker's trial started last week, right?"

He nodded. Damn right he did. He followed what was going on with that bastard religiously. The detectives practically had him on speed dial. There was probably a message on his machine at home from them about the case. House didn't want him harming Cameron or any other woman ever again.

"Well," Cuddy continued, "he pled guilty and the decision came back already. He got 10 years for each rape, and 5 years for Cameron's sexual assault, for a total of 55 years."

"What about parole?"

"For good behavior, signs of rehabilitation and a psych evaluation—after 15 years."

"So the guy is, what, 35 years old? He could be out and raping again at 50. Fucking judges," he muttered. "What if he gets out?"

"He has to stay at least 500 yards away from each victim, register as a sexual offender and do a door to door introduction in his neighborhood."

House paused to talk this all in. "Have you told Cameron yet?"

"No," she said, biting her bottom lip. "I was hoping you would. I figured since you've been helping her through everything, she'd take the news better from you."

He sighed. "Fine. I'll go find her. But if she gets upset, keep Wilson and Dr. Stevens away from me!"

"You pissed off the two most easygoing men in the hospital," Cuddy said, the mood a bit lighter. She got up to leave. "And before you give her the news, apologize to Cameron."

House pointed his cane at her. "I knew it! You were going to ream me!"

"No I wasn't," she said with a smile, walking out. "I knew it had been taken care of already."

"Oh yeah," he called, hobbling after her. He poked his head into the hallway and yelled, "If she gets upset again, look for my body in the end zone at Giants Stadium!"

Great. Now he had to go brace himself to talk to the gorgeous brunette who was quite possibly extremely pissed at him, and tht he was quite possibly falling in love with.

* * *

Since there weren't any new cases for the Diagnostic Department, and she was all caught up on her paperwork, Cameron was helping out the actual Immunology Department for a change. It was a little boring and slow, but it was work—and got her away from House for a bit. According to—well, the entire hospital, House was someone you DID NOT want to be near today. He already bit the head off of a nurse for saying "Good Morning" to him. And when he did his clinic hours today, he ordered a rectal exam for someone who was in for a broken finger. AND she had it from a good source that he started off with a full bottle of Vicodin today… and already had it refilled by noon. Yes, Allison Cameron was glad their department had no cases today.

She sighed and took off her glasses. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she couldn't help of thinking over her situation. The whole thing mad her sad at first: House abandoning her, needing people to stand up to him for her, and finally figuring out that he really did have some kind of feelings for her. Now, the anger was starting to set in. Instead of the paranoid, scared, upset feeling of being alone that she felt last night, a slow burning anger was starting course through her. Jealousy was a childish thing, and his could have caused her to get hurt again.

"God," she muttered out loud, "why is everything always so complicated?"

Cameron sighed again, put her glasses back on, and went back to work. She kept herself busy, diligently going over files for about a half an hour. Then, at about half past two, she stiffened. She didn't hear him come in, but she could feel his eyes on her back. She knew he was there before he spoke.

"What are you doing?"

"Working," she replied shortly, without turning around.

"We don't have any cases."

"I know."

House paused for a second, waiting for her explanation. When it was evident that she wasn't going to give one, he said, "So?"

"So, what?"

"So what are you doing here?"

"Well, because I'd rather be working than twiddling my thumbs waiting for the next person to come in with Cushing's or African Sleeping Sickness, I offered my services to the actual Immunology Department."

"Oh."

"Yes, 'oh'." She turned around to face him. "So if you don't mind, I still have a lot of cases to go over before 5 o'clock."

"Actually I do mind."

"Oh, really."

"Yes."

"Fine, you stay here," Cameron said, gathering her files. "I'll go somewhere else." She moved to go around him to leave the office. House grabbed her arm, preventing her escape.

"No, Allison, we need to talk."

"So after the last few days, it's back to 'Allison'? I don't think so. It's Dr. Cameron, and there's nothing to talk about," she said through her teeth. "Now let me go."

"Not until we talk."

"Why? Is Troy forcing you to apologize? Or Wilson? Could they have possibly made you feel guilty enough about me? Is it possible for the great Dr. House to feel remorse?"

"Oh, it's 'Troy', now is it?" House cringed at the flash in Cameron's eyes. _Ooops._

"Jealous much, House?"

He let go of her arm and was silent. Taking his silence as confirmation, she continued her path away from him.

"Dr. Cameron, we still need to talk."

"About what," she snapped, irritated.

"Kevin Breaker."

"I already know about it. I gave the cops my pager number, and they paged me when the verdict came in. I called them and I know everything, okay? You don't need to baby-sit me anymore. You don't have to feel burdened or guilty or fake like you care about my welfare anymore. You already ditched me yesterday. You're free, okay? Just leave me alone now." She was near tears at this point.

"Okay. But there are things we still need to talk about."

Cameron let out a half laugh-half sob noise. "What? What is there possibly left to talk about?"

"Us."


	14. Finally

**Summery: Just read… **

**Spoilers: Up until midway through "Heavy" and takes a twist. **

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Disclaimer: You know I don't own it! I play. **

**_A/N: Again, sorry about the delay in chapters. I wish I could thank you all by name for your wonderful reviews, but that would take up like 5 pages! LOL Anyway, on with the show!_**

****

Cameron paused in front of the elevators. "Us," she repeated disbelievingly. "House, there is no 'us'. The minute I showed signs of getting stronger and becoming more confident, you got scared and jealous and went right back to your old bitter self."

"Jealous? That is the second time you've accused me of being jealous of someone. Whom could I possibly be jealous of?"

"You are jealous that I went out with Troy on last Thursday and not you."

"Oh, yes. 'Troy'," he replied, complete with air quotes. "You could have at least said Wilson. That might have been believable." _Foot, say hello to mouth. Good job, asshole. Dig yourself a deeper hole._

She smiled bitterly and pressed the 'down' button. "Jealous and in denial. Another reason why this 'us' you speak of does not exist." Confusion crossed over her features. "So I have no idea why you even bothered to bring this up in the first place." Cameron pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm tired, House. I have a massive headache. I'm going to go downstairs, get some coffee, finish up a few more files for the Immunology Department and go home." Seeing the elevator doors open, she hopped on. "This conversation is over."

"I wasn't finished," House stated, frowning.

"Well I was!" The doors shut and she was gone.

He angrily thumped his cane on the floor, trying to think of what to do next. Number 1: Retrieve foot from mouth. Number 2: Follow her. Number 3: Stop. Being. An. Ass. He pressed the down button and waited.

* * *

Cameron sighed as she waited for the pot to brew. It figured that there would be none made. She always made it. Why would anyone bother to refill it? The alarm on the pot dinged to signal the coffee was ready. She fixed herself a cup and inhaled the warm, nutty goodness of it. The caffeine would help clear her head. Cameron turned around to head back to work, prize in hand—almost smack dab into House. 

"Gaah!" she yelped, as she jolted backwards, completely startled. Effectively spilling coffee all over herself. Again.

"I told you I wasn't done with our talk."

She ignored his statement and looked forlornly at the front of her formerly clean scrub top.  
"Cameron?"

"Why me," she asked, ignoring him. "All I wanted was a cup of coffee. But no, I can't even get that. First it wasn't made, now it's all over me. You don't know what the hell you want. I do. I want coffee."

House just looked at her while she rambled on.

"… spilled all over me twice! Now I have to go get another set of scrubs from laundry. I already ruined my favorite blouse. I just want to be left alone and drink—not wear—some coffee." She shook her head and stormed out of the room. House just stared after her. "I think I've made her go round the bend," he muttered to himself.

"Umm, House?"

He looked up to see Wilson in the doorway and sighed in resignation. "What now, James?"

"I just saw Cameron in the hallway. What happened?"

"I think I broke her."

"What does that mean?

"I blew it the first time I tried to talk to her a little while ago, and she walked away from me."

"Ah. So you acted like yourself." That earned a glare from House.

"Then," he continued, ignoring Wilson, "I tried to talk to her just now, but she spilled coffee all over herself and as a result went crazy."

"Ah. So that's why she was muttering to herself about evil coffee."

* * *

Cameron was sitting on a bench in the women's locker room after she changed into yet another pair of fresh scrubs. She put her head in her hands and rubbed her temples. Her headache had gotten a hundred times worse than a half hour ago. This had officially turned in to the worst day ever.

She heard the locker room door open, and looked up to see who entered.

"Okay, I lied," she muttered, closing her eyes. "_Now_ this is officially the worst day ever." Cam paused, waiting for House to make a witty remark. After a minute of nothing, she peeked open an eye. He was still just standing there in front of the door. "What? No snappy remark?"

"Nope. Just making sure you're calm before I try to speak again."

She flushed, remembering her rant of a few minutes ago. "I've been having a bad day."

"Because of me."

"Yes, mostly because of you."

"I'm sorry."

Her head whipped around at that comment. The words lacked any sarcasm or false undertones. She looked at him. He wasn't smirking or smiling or fidgeting. Just standing there looking calm.

"Well… you should be," was all she could say.

House sat down next to her. "Now I want you to let me talk, okay? I'm going to do something I normally don't do. So just shut up and listen, and I will try not to be an asshole for 5 minutes."

"Can I time you?"

"Don't be a smartass. I'm trying here. And I tried earlier, in front of the elevators. But my personality overtakes my brain sometimes and I turn into the jerk you know and love." He paused for a minute to gather himself.

Cameron looked at him. He looked very sincere and sober, a great change from earlier. "Go on," she encouraged.

He took a deep breath. "You were right."

"I'm sorry? What was that?"

He glared at her as to say, _I told you not to be a smartass. Shut it._ Clenching his teeth, he said, tightly, "I said, you were right." He paused again, trying to gather to courage to tell her the truth. "I was jealous."

The next part of his confession came out in one big rush. "And I'm sorry I ditched you Thursday. I was so jealous of seeing you with Dr. Stevens, I thought… Well I thought once someone younger and better looking than me was in the picture, you'd forget about me and this friendship we've formed over the past months. You've broken past this barrier I have against relationships and love and after Dr. Stevens, any thoughts of me actually trying to get the courage to from a real relationship again just… well, they were crushed, okay? Like a little teenager who saw his crush just kiss the starting quarterback." House took a deep breath and looked at Cameron out of the corner of his eye. "Okay, I'm done not acting like myself."

Cameron was silent. One minute passed, then two. House became fidgety. After the fifth minute of silence and pretty much no movement from her side of the bench, he couldn't take it anymore. "Well? Slap me, mock me, laugh at me! Just give me some kind of reaction!"

She nodded her head. "Okay." Then she leaned over a placed a soft kiss on his lips.

After they parted, House just stared at her.

"What," she asked in response to his silence.

"Uh, yeah. I wasn't expecting that."

Cameron smiled. "You see? You stop being a jerk for just a few minutes and you get rewards. Who would have thought?"

He raised his eyebrows. "So… does this mean we're good?"

At that she laughed. "Not even close." She ticked off each stipulation on her fingers. "I want dinner, movies, flowers, presents, and romance. Okay, well, you're not the romance type. All the rest, though. You wanna make things right, you better get crackin'."

House finally relaxed and let a small smile grace his features. He was going to push his luck with one more thing though. "How much longer do you have on the lease for your apartment?"

"That's an abrupt change of subject. About 6 months before I have to renew, why?"

"Well, it's been kind of empty since you moved back to your place. And I seem to be having an awful time falling asleep lately all by myself…"

Cameron stood up and smiled. "Oh really?"

"Really really."

"I see." She turned to leave the locker room. Glancing back, she noticed House still sitting on the bench. She reached out her hand and said, "Well? Are you coming or what?

House stood up and grabbed her hand. Cameron leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll at least pick up some clothes for tonight," she said, as they left the room together.

He smiled to himself. It was a start.

**The End (For real this time! No more extentions!)**

_A.N. Sorry if it was OOC towards the end, but it took me forever to get out this chapter and I didn't want you guys to wait anymore! So I hope it was concluded to everyone's satisfaction! Thanks for all the great reviews!_


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